Google focuses on mobile-friendly websites.

In October 2014 Google Webmaster Tools introduced a new feature that checks whether a website is mobile-friendly. We have recently started receiving notifications from Google about websites that have no mobile or responsive version, listing the affected pages and describing the main problems, such as: viewport not configured, font size too small, touch elements too close together, content wider than the viewport, Flash content.

What is a mobile version, and what is a responsive website?

Both approaches achieve the same result: displaying a website on a mobile device in line with the standards for presenting content on lower-resolution screens, including the latest standards set by Google.

Mobile website

is a website adapted for display on mobile devices (phones, tablets) in a purely informational form. It is characterised by:

• no unnecessary graphics
• a simplified style
• sans-serif fonts, without font distortion
• links arranged in a few rows or vertically
• the most important information placed at the top of the page (it should be visible without scrolling)
• styles separated from the HTML code – so users avoid downloading data twice
• usually hosted on a separate domain or subdomain dedicated to mobile content.
• no "bells and whistles", i.e. scripts that enhance the look of the site visually, e.g. through animation

Responsive website

The word "responsive" means reacting or adapting. In the context of websites, it refers to the ability to display content in a planned way that fits the size of the browser window while maintaining readability and good design. Thanks to CSS3, it is possible to prepare different display variants of a single page template for specific mobile devices and computer screen resolutions. Responsive websites can keep the full look of a standard website, but their elements should be adapted. In brief:

• graphics resized for smaller screens
• page elements styled for scrolling
• any fonts, but sized for the resolution of mobile devices
• links large enough to be selected easily
• content blocks adapt to the device, e.g. a multi-column layout is possible on a tablet, while on a phone single-column text remains the most readable.
• no need to host it at a different address.
• "bells and whistles" (jQuery, JavaScript) should be used with care, but are not ruled out. Importantly, Google's standard does not accept Flash animation, so according to Google, websites with Flash banners are not mobile-friendly.
• there are no specific design restrictions.

Mobile browsers do not use the hover function to the same extent as mouse-driven browsers. Effects that change page elements on mouse-over on a desktop computer can be quite troublesome on a mobile device. Remember too that a responsive version can be called a mobile website, but a mobile website is not always responsive in the full sense of the word.

In our opinion, it is quite likely that websites not adapted to mobile devices will soon start losing their positions in Google search results.

Please read Google's notes on mobile-friendliness.